January Notes

A new monthly endeavor, gratitudes, flower update, and, oh yes, basketball 🏀

Why Signs of Life?

A few years ago, my friend Chrystie shared a line on her newsletter that hasn’t left me.

“Gratitude is looking for signs of life amidst the daily deaths.”

It’s been one of those phrases I can’t quit in the best of ways, and often pops into my conscious right when I need it. I lean melancholy, I always have—less of an Eeyore and more of a Luna Lovegood. If you were to ask me what I’m thinking in a given moment, it’s more likely to be “what is the meaning of all this living” than “what groceries do I need to get?”

Perhaps a better way of saying it is that my highs are high and my lows are low (one of my children is like this, how quaint to see it up close in someone else). In the low times, gratitude is not my natural bent. It’s a muscle in need of daily exercise. When overwhelmed by the daily deaths—and in this current climate, there are ever so many—I’ve got to cling to the signs of life. They are the buoys, the anchors, Princess Irene’s silver thread.*

That’s all this newsletter is. A list of my anchors each month. Consider it a discipline of gratitude. I’ll do my best to make it worth your while, and be as brief as possible. From time to time, I’ll share updates on current projects (writing and gardening), and maybe a poem or two. Mostly I’ll just allow this newsletter to and become what it will be. Your attention is an honor.

The blooming Christmas cactus saving me from morning doldrums.

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GRATITUDE I. Birds, birds, birds

I love January. I hate January. Give me crisp air, winter sun, and bare trees. I’m all about that. The natural rhythm of stripping things to their most essential form or essence—absolutely stunning. But I despise the constant hunt for warmth, sun, and something visibly growing that is not the color brown.

Hence, birds. Easier to see in the winter and oh, the color. We’ve got a nice little gaggle at our feeder. The regular titmouse, nuthatch, and chickadee variety, but some of my favorites have been purple (yes purple, not house!) finches, and the red-bellied woodpecker that is a delightful shot of vermillion. He is forever rasping and croaking his way about the yard like a extroverted chain smoker. Walker reminds me often that his head, not his belly, is red. Sound logic.

And, yes, just in case you were wondering, I have reached the “binoculars about the house” level of bird watching, which has rewarded me immensely. I spotted my first ever yellow-bellied sapsucker tapping holes around and around our maple tree from the bathroom window, and watched him through the nocs for as long as the kids would allow. He was fluffy and disheveled and much bigger than I imagined. Pure wonder.

On theme is this library find and my current evening fireside read (the wood stove being another gratitude):

The Bluebird Effect by artist and song bird rehabber Julie Zickefoose.

II. Drawing

Because this creative spirit is never content without a new endeavor, I’ve started sketching and dabbling in water color. It’s my current protest against my innate perfectionism and coincidentally, a new way Walker and I share quality time. He got a trace and draw projector for Christmas, and I got a book on Nature Journaling (see below). How freeing to allow myself the permission to not be good at something, and just to try, and try again.

The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling by John Muir Laws

Walker's owl, bass, and skink | My unfinished stag

III. Evening Basketball Routine

Non-sports fans, hang in there. The San Antonio Spurs and UNC Tarheels (Keith family favorite teams) are pretty darn good this year. Yes, we all know Victor Wembanyama is a wunderkind, but the Spurs roster is way deep (they were 9–3 while Wemby was injured in November / December). If you like basketball, they are very fun to watch, especially Keldon Johnson. It’s gotten me into reading Athletic articles, and this one was particularly enjoyable. With the current state of news-writing (much sludge IMO), these have been a pleasant surprise.

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Flower Updates 🌸

With baby due in March, I’ve scaled back my spring cut flower plans for the year. Sad, I know, but I’m trying to see it as a kindness to future Abby and baby. I typically start a lot of hardy annual seeds in January (snapdragon, stock, strawflower, eucalyptus) to be planted out in February and March. How forlorn my seed shelf looks alone and empty in the corner!

However, the ranunculus and poppies I planted in the fall are enduring this bitter weather better than expected, though sadly not my sweet peas. I lost half to some type of white mold? If anyone has success with sowing sweet peas in winter here, hit me up. I’m trying to replace the ones I lost, and I’m curious to see if I can get them to germinate.

I did fill a couple milk jugs with some soil and seed for winter sowing. It’s such a low maintenance approach to starting seeds, and if they don’t germinate, no harm done. Joe Gardener has a lovely podcast episode about this process if you’re interested!

The Joe Gardener Show with Joe Lamp’l: 130 - Winter Sowing

Lastly, this is my first year forcing spring bulbs indoors. Yet another attempt to brighten those dreary cold winter days. I planted hyacinth and tazetta daffodil pots in November and left them outside to chill. I brought them inside the first week of January and like little green bunny ears they’re pushing through the soil. Fingers crossed by February I’ll have some blooms to show.

That’s all folks. Thanks for humoring me. I’ll be back in February. 🌞

*The Princess and the Goblin by George McDonald

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